Fans in the UAE will get a chance to watch the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Fernando Torres as European giants Real Madrid and AC Milan will play a friendly match in Dubai this winter.
The “Dubai Football Challenge” will take place at The Sevens on December 30, with both clubs coming to Dubai during the winter break of their respective leagues.
The National reported last week that European Champions Madrid would be coming to Dubai in December to make use of the facilities at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.
Real, the 10-time and reigning European champions, will arrive in Dubai from their Fifa Club World Cup campaign in Morocco for what will be their first appearance in the country and Emilio Butragueno, one of the legends of the Spanish club, is excited about this opportunity to reach out to their fans in this part of the world.
“We are really excited about it because it is going to be the first time Real Madrid are going to play here in Dubai and it will be a fantastic opportunity to get in touch with those who love football in this region,” Butragueno, who scored 123 goals in 341 appearances for Los Bloncos and won six league titles with them, said at a press conference yesterday.
“So this game is really important for us and we are going to do our best to make our fans happy. They [the fans] will have an opportunity to watch a great game because Milan are a fantastic club, one of the most prestigious in the world, and we have a historic relationship with them.”
Milan have won the Dubai Football Challenge in three of the previous four editions, but Franco Baresi, who represented the Italian club at the announcement, is expecting a much stiffer challenge this time against a star-studded Real time led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
“We will come here to win, but this year it is not going to be easy,” said the Italy and Milan legend, who is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time.
“Our team is going through a transition and we are going to play against Real Madrid, who as everyone knows, are one of the strongest teams in the world and they are the winners of the Champions League. But we are hopeful, so let’s see what happens.”
Winners of 17 Serie A titles, Milan endured a disappointing last season, finishing eighth and missing European action for the first time in many years. Currently, they are sixth on the points table after five matches and Baresi is hoping they can recover to finish among the top three and qualify for Europe.
“As you know, in football there are ups and downs, but we are not really down, we are in between,” Baresi said. “We have a new management and a lot of new things are happening.
“The main focus for us is to go back to Europe. AC Milan have always been there in Europe and for the first time in many years, we are out of the Europa league. So that’s our main focus – finishing in the top three means we go back to Europe.
“When we are here [in Dubai], it is a good chance to prepare for the second half of the championship. Hopefully, when we arrive here, we will be in a relevant position [on the league table] and then we can find some energy here to carry that momentum for the rest of the season.”
source: thenational.ae
Tags: AC Milan, Dubai, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, sports
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